Grade 7 – English Quarter 4 – Tools of Persuasion

TOOLS OF PERSUASION

·  What is persuasion?

·  How can you convince someone of your opinion?

·  What tools do speakers use to persuade their listeners?

·  Where do you often find examples of persuasive language?

The language of persuasion is an important literacy skill. Media, politicians, advertisers, and writers all use specific tools to persuade or convince you of their opinion. Once you know how to recognize the language of persuasion, you are better equipped to make your own decisions. There are many different tools of persuasive language and we will only examine a few key examples.

So, what are some effective tools of persuasion?

Tool of Persuasion / What is it? / How is it persuasive? / Example
Card Stacking
/ Information is true, but only ideas, information and facts that support your viewpoint are presented. All other information is omitted. / Makes the best case possible for your side and the worst case for the opposing viewpoint. Most difficult to detect because not sure what information is missing. / Studies suggest that nutrients in milk can play an important role in weight loss. So if you’re trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, try drinking 24 ounces of lowfat or fat free milk every 24 hours as part of your reduced-calorie diet.
Compare
/ Look at ways in which things are the same / A persuasive comparison slants our thinking by linking our feelings about a thing to the thing to which we compare it. / The new Sony PlayStation has more sophisticated electronics than the first NASA space shuttle.
Contrast
/ Look at ways in which things are different / Coconuts are more deadly than sharks. Coconuts kill 150 people a year, more than are killed by sharks.
Exaggeration
/ The representation of something that goes beyond the facts / Effective tool to make an effect and emphasize a point /
Metaphor
/ Metaphors are comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way. / Powerful metaphors create images and feelings that can sway our thinking. / The economic crisis is a train wreck.
Repetition / Repetition is using a word or phrase twice or more in a short passage; dwelling on a point. / Emphasizes the point and wears down our defences until the message is finally accepted / “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
Winston Churchill, WWII
Simile
/ A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as / Replacing the Prime Minister is like replacing the captain of the Titanic.
Gordon Brown's budget speech sounded like a blindfolded man riding a unicycle on the rim of a volcano
Superlative
/ Superlatives state that something is the best. They are marked by the suffix -est or preceded by the word most or least. / They make things seem bigger and better than they are. / "The [New York City] subway is a gift to any connoisseur of superlatives. It has the longest rides of any subway in the world, the biggest stations, the fastest trains, the most track, the most passengers, the most police officers. It also has the filthiest trains, the most bizarre graffiti, the noisiest wheels, the craziest passengers, the wildest crimes."
Paul Theroux, "Subterranean Gothic." Granta, 1984

Re-read the passage explaining “Why Aki Ra is a Hero”. Find examples for each “tool of persuasion”. Write the example and explain how it is persuasive.

Tool of Persuasion / How is it persuasive? / Example
Card Stacking
Compare
Contrast
Exaggeration
Metaphor
Repetition
Simile